“Wisconsin Captures Nephilim – State Prepares”
(Green Bay, WI – 4 July, 2008) Wisconsin residents should prepare to see Nephilim giants, purple robed Generals and numerous other strange beings at summer’s end. By early September movie cameras will roll and the sci-fi, action thriller, Nephilim, based on the original comic book series, will begin filming in various locations around the State. Last year, Los Angeles based film producer and former Appleton, Wisconsin native, Susan Moses, traveled with creator/director Danny Wilson to multiple locations in Eastern Europe to scout for the perfect locations and best production values. They were ready to commit to filming in Bulgaria before the US dollar fell to all time lows against the Euro and rising air travel costs added to the production’s bottom line. The pair met with various location managers and film commissioners at the Locations Expo in Los Angeles last spring and realized that with individual US state subsidies in place, films can realize substantial savings if shot under the auspice of local production services companies who are able to tap into the local, talented crew bases.
After learning from the representatives from Wisconsin, who attended the Locations Expo, that Nephilim was exploring options, Jay Schillinger, President of Pulse Studios in Green Bay, WI found the film’s website and contacted the team to discuss Wisconsin as an alternative. According to Schillinger, “I knew it was a long shot opportunity for Wisconsin, but I also knew that if my company and others would step up to support the film, we could realistically compete for the business.” After months of budgeting reviews and location scouting photo exchanges, Danny Wilson, Susan Moses and the DP, Bernd Heinl flew into Green Bay and Milwaukee to personally explore Wisconsin’s ability to capture the film’s business. Within a week of being introduced to various government officials, prospective location owners and Scott Robb of the Film Wisconsin office, Schillinger was able to convince the team and the deal was closed. Wilson, Moses and Heinl will open up their production offices by late July to complete the pre-production activities. Filming will begin in early September.
Having grown up in Wisconsin Moses knew that the state had been settled by German, Polish and Flemish populations which meant that there would be practical locations similar to the Bulgarian architecture scouted for the film last year. For the DP, Bernd Heinl, Wisconsin was also not an unfamiliar location. Heinl was the cinematographer on Milwaukee Minnesota shot in Wisconsin in 2003. Heinl was eager to confirm Wisconsin as a viable alternative to Bulgaria, “I knew that Milwaukee had many beautiful older structures, a wonderful river system and numerous other locations to support the film’s look,” Heinl told Scott Robb during the recent location scout.
Finding the perfect locations and infrastructure were tasks requiring specific research and deep digging. Nephilim is the brain child of creator Danny Wilson who began working on the film which is a part of a trilogy and an original comic book series before he graduated from film school.
Wilson told the Pulse research team, “The characters, color schemes, various locations and story line have all been established within the 1
st twelve issues of the comic book. I have to be true to the comics so that I do not disappoint the loyal fans.”
Wilson has been spending time between his
North Carolina home and
Los Angeles for over two years while he and Ms. Moses have readied the project for production.
Unlike large studio films, Nephilim will rely heavily on local crews, talent and the state’s film and production infrastructure. Cameras, lighting and electrical equipment will be rented locally in addition to other goods and service purchases which will infuse fresh capital into the local economies.
The film’s lead and supporting actors are from Los Angeles, Italy, Austria, Viet Nam, Israel, Trinidad, India, and the UK; however, many important speaking roles and hundreds of day players and extras will be hired from the rich pool of local talent.
For additional information please contact:
Jay Schillinger, President Pulse Studios
jays@pulsedms.com
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